View full sizeChuck Crow / The Plain DealerSeneca Wallace says he'll be ready to go in Wednesday's practice a little more than three weeks since suffering a sprained ankle against Atlanta on Oct. 10. "Injuries happen," Wallace said Monday. "If you're playing well, I see why it shouldn't be a problem to come back and be the guy."

BEREA, Ohio -- Browns quarterbacks Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace sat out Monday's practice with their high ankle sprains, but Wallace expects to be ready to play Sunday against the Patriots -- if Eric Mangini calls on him.

"I want to try my best to be ready," said Wallace, who walked on the ankle without limping. "I want to be out there playing and doing whatever I can to contribute. I'm shooting for it and hopefully we'll see what happens as the week goes on."

Rookie quarterback Colt McCoy got a jump on the starting nod for New England with the other two idle, but Eric Mangini re-iterated he'll start whoever gives the team the best chance to win and that the situation will unfold throughout the week.

Wallace said he threw the ball around a little on his own Monday, the first day back from the bye weekend, and hopes to return to practice on Wednesday.

"[Chances of starting on Sunday] will probably be dependent on how I feel maybe Wednesday or Thursday," he said.

Mangini said both injured quarterbacks are a lot better after the bye and both might have a shot to see action Wednesday. "I'd say Seneca's probably a little closer than Jake, but that could flip pretty quickly," Mangini said.

Mangini stressed that McCoy's solid performances in his first two starts in Pittsburgh and New Orleans have given the Browns the luxury of resting Wallace and Delhomme as long as necessary.

"It's a function of getting guys back to healthy, and seeing where Colt continues to go," said Mangini. "There's some ability now to go further in terms of rest if we need to with Seneca or Jake, because we do have the situation that we have."

The upside, Mangini said, is that the Browns have two good alternatives in the short term rather than scrambling to find a starter. Wallace is out of his boot now, while Delhomme is not.

"When Seneca played, he played well," said Mangini. "Since Colt's been playing, he's played well. It's nice to be able to choose between two really good options."

Mangini said there's been no discussion about putting Delhomme on injured reserve for the season despite being behind Wallace in his rehab. Delhomme said after the victory in New Orleans that he needs to be really healthy to play and not hobbling around. He didn't sound optimistic about that happening right after the bye.

"[Delhomme's] progressing like you'd expect him to," said Mangini. "There haven't been any setbacks; there hasn't been any thought process to him not being able to play once this is completed."

Mangini stressed that the old adage about a player not losing his job to injury doesn't apply anymore. He was on the Patriots staff in 2001 when Tom Brady took over for the injured Drew Bledsoe and won 11 games, leading the Pats to a Super Bowl victory over the Rams. Brady went on to win two more Super Bowls, being named MVP twice.

"I don't think any rule is hard and fast," Mangini said. "Each situation, you have to look at a little bit differently. Tom went in and played and has played pretty well and we stayed with him that whole year. It's not just one universal rule that can be applied to every single guy."

Wallace made it clear Monday that he doesn't feel he should lose his job to injury.

"Injuries happen," he said. "If you're playing well, I see why it shouldn't be a problem to come back and be the guy. But it's the coach's decision."

Josh Cribbs agreed that an injured player shouldn't lose his job.

"Even if Colt was the starter and he was injured, we'd expect him to come back as well," said Cribbs. "I don't expect guys to lose their position due to injury in the line of duty. It's only fair."

Wallace acknowledged there's nothing he can do if Mangini decides to stick with McCoy. "I can't react to it anyway," he said. "I've just got to prepare just in case something happens and see what happens after that."

Mangini said he'll abide by his "best chance to win" philosophy for the remainder of the season.

"That's something that we owe the other players, ourselves and the fans," he said. "We're playing to win the games. We're not using the games as a developmental-type mode. You're not going to get something past that group of guys in there. They're pretty savvy. If they feel like you're playing someone to justify a draft pick or a salary, they don't feel like you're doing what you're supposed to do."

Despite that, he said he wouldn't resort to alternating the quarterbacks on a week-to-week basis.

"I was thinking of it more in terms of who you feel is playing better, who's going to move the offense more effectively at that point, not necessarily switching those guys out," he said.

St. Clair idle: The only other player to sit out Monday was right tackle John St. Clair (ankle) "which is a low number for us I think so far," said Mangini.

Follow Us

cleveland.com is powered by Plain Dealer Publishing Co. and Northeast Ohio Media Group. All rights reserved (About Us).The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Northeast Ohio Media Group LLC.